US reports record number of deportations and arrests in 2026

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ICE carried out 483,200 deportations in 2026. Democrats prepare to investigate tactics used.

The United States government has reported a historic high in deportations and arrests this fiscal year, surpassing previous records.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out 483,200 deportations and more than 491,000 immigration arrests in 2026.

The total number of deportations breaks all records in ICE’s 23-year history, including the previous record of 442,640 deportations made in 2025.

The report comes days after US President Donald Trump acknowledged his administration’s immigration crackdown may have been “too tough”.

“Fiscal Year 2026 saw the highest number of ICE deportations and arrests for any year in ICE’s history. September 2026 was the best September in ICE’s history in terms of arrests,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.

ICE said it made more than 48,000 arrests in September, ending a two-month run of record highs that reached 50,925 in August.

“There is no question the administration has increased enforcement more than any prior president. There’s also evidence that the illegal immigrant population has declined significantly because of increased out-migration due to a fear of enforcement,” Steven Camarota, director of research for the Washington, DC-based Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), told Al Jazeera.

“Of course the data is always incomplete and it’s difficult to measure. On the specific numbers released today, the big issue that I have not been able to determine is what percentage of these individuals are interior enforcement and what percentage are removals from the interior of the United States and what percentage are those turned around at the border or at airport.

“Increased removals, sometimes called deportation, certainly can encourage more people to go home, and clearly that is a central goal of this administration,” Camarota concluded.

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